Bollywood star Amrish Puri dies

Puri acted in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Veteran Bollywood actor, Amrish Puri, has died at the age of 72 in Mumbai (Bombay) from a brain haemorrhage.

Puri was best known for playing the role of a villain in more than 200 Bollywood films spread over more than three decades.

He also acted in Hollywood, making his mark in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has joined Bollywood directors and stars in condoling Puri's death.

"Indian cinema and theatre will, without doubt, miss his commanding and endearing presence," Mr Singh said.

Didn't recover'

A hospital administrator said he had been admitted to hospital because of a blood clot in his brain after falling in his home.

The film industry has lost a giant Govind Nihalani Send your tributes

"He suffered a head injury due to the fall and didn't really recover," Anupam Verma of Mumbai's Hinduja hospital told the Associated Press.

His death has saddened the Bollywood fraternity who say he will be hard to replace.

"The film industry has lost a giant," said film director Govind Nihalani who had worked with Puri in 14 films spread over 25 years.

Other directors paid him rich tributes saying he was a "director's actor".

The younger brother of a Bollywood character actor, Madan Puri, Amrish Puri had a relatively late start in the industry at the age of 40, making his debut in 1971 with the film Reshma Aur Shera (Reshma and Shera).

He caught the attention of the box office with several hits in the 1980s and 90s including Vidhaata (God), Phool Aur Kaante (Flowers and Thorns), Mr India and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (Big Hearts Will Win Their Brides).

It was his role as the villain Mogambo in Mr India and his famous line, "Mogambo Khush Hua (Mogambo is pleased)" that raised Puri's profile and earned him recognition as one of Bollywood's best known character actors.

Hollywood

His last major hit was the film Hulchul (Uproar) which was released in December.

But it was Spielberg's second film in the Indiana Jones trilogy that won him international recognition when he played the bald-headed high priest Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Puri also had a minor role in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi playing the Indian independence leader's Muslim sponsor in South Africa.

He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.